Florida grants two more medical cannabis business licenses

Florida has approved two more business licenses for medical marijuana treatment centers, increasing to 11 the number of companies authorized to grow, process and distribute MMJ.

The Florida Department of Health on Wednesday issued approval letters to the Sun Bulb Company in Arcadia and Treadwell Nursery in Eustis.

A week earlier, regulators issued approval letters to Plants of Ruskin and 3 Boys Farm, both in Ruskin.

The announcements follow news that Florida has added more than 10,000 patients since June.

The four growers have 30 days after receiving the approval letters to ask for authorization to begin cultivating MMJ, the News Service of Florida reported.

A Florida law passed in June mandates that regulators approve five more licenses by Oct. 1.

A potential licensee, Loop’s Nursery and Greenhouses in Jacksonville, is caught up in a legal case, according to the news service. Loop’s, like the four recently licensed companies, went to court after they were bypassed for licenses in 2014.